Karilyn Bentley's Blog, page 36

Donate A Book to the Child of A Fallen Warrior at Snowball Express

Donate a Book to The Children of our Fallen Warriors at SNOWBALL EXPRESS to be delivered on December 14, 2013 in Dallas, Texas! DEADLINE IS FRIDAY DECEMBER 6TH, 6 PM CST!

CLICK HERE TO DONATE

Tennessee is a miracle kitty who was found in a field by farmers. She wasn't expected to live but the kindness of strangers kept her alive. She was bottle fed and loved by many. This is the true life story of a cat who survived against all odds to become an amazing therapy cat for Veterans and children. Journey along with Tennessee and discover what sharing love is all about!

Vicki Batman ~ Launch Day!!! The Great Fruitcake Bake-off

Happy Launch Day!!!


 Today, I celebrate the launch of my funny holiday romantic comedy:

The Great Fruitcake Bake-off
 I wrote this one for all of you fruitcake naysayers. I love fruitcake, especially when dipped in chocolate.
Here's a blurb: To defend her five wins, Samantha Greene, has to find a new entry for The Great Fruitcake Bake-off and teams up with new neighbor, Dixon Roberts, only what they discover is baking a award-winning entry can be complicated, bad guys are plotting to take the crown, and ultimately, first prize isn't just about a ribbon.

Are you teased? Here's more—the excerpt!"I am not entering this year." I pinned an unbreakable stare on Bethany, my long-time friend. We were piddling over coffee in her cubical like we always did before getting to the nuts and bolts of company business. "Period."
"Why not, Samantha? You should be proud to be the five-time winner of the Great Fruitcake Bake-off. You're a legend."

"Is being a legend in the fruitcake world a good thing? It's exhausting. Finding the perfect recipe, then bake and exhibit it. Besides, shouldn't somebody else win?" Bethany's fists went to her hips. "Sam, we're talking fruitcake. It's not groundbreaking like, like the Declaration of Independence or...the Pyramids."

"I'm shocked to hear you say that. Fruitcake is the cake of all time. It dates to--" She bobbed her head. "To the sixteenth century."

I raised my finger. "It gets a bad--" "Rap." She sighed a soul searching blow of breath. "You always say that. You also always say you love participating; yet, you're not defending your title this year."

"I've used up all of Grammie's recipes." "You could start over with the first confection you entered five years ago, couldn't you?"

"It seems like cheating...in a weird way. And I don't cheat." "You are a shining example of excellent values." She drummed her fingers from the littlest to the index and considered. "I've got it! Why not check online and find a recipe?"

"They don't call you brainchild for nothing." I rubbed a finger along the divot below my lower lip. A tiny speck of excitement blossomed within me. "I'll need a brand new fruitcake. I wouldn't want to be like Crazy Wanda who enters the same freakin' lump of dough every freakin' year." "It never hurts to expand your repertoire, even if it's by collecting fruitcake recipes."

Find "The Great Fruitcake Bake-off" at: http:// bit.ly/HXeo7h
And at other e-retailers
Find Vicki at: http://vickibatman.blogspot.com

News Flash!!!  Hear Vicki's radio interview with Alisha Paige at 10 am today at: http://bit.ly/1bgb5SJ  Feel free to call in at: 347-3245365.Want to be a part of a drawing? There's two giftcards and a hand-crafted item up for grabs.
Leave a comment with your email address and I'll notify the winner.
May your fruitcake days be Merry and Bright!

Die Hard A Christmas Movie?

Yes, my husband insists that every year we watch Die Hard. This is our annual Christmas movie and while it is rather gruesome, I have to say I still love the message. This man loves his wife and would do just about anything to save her and restore their marriage. Even fight supposed terrorists. So I was surprised to see it’s number 6 on the Rotten Tomatoes Holiday Movie List http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/best_christmas_movies_2012/.
My favorite Christmas Movie is the classic Jimmy Stewart, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The line I will never forget from that movie is “When a bell rings an angel is receiving his wings.” That one grabs my heart and squeezes it every time. Whoever the screenwriter was, he knew just how to grab your emotions and rip them apart. I still tear up when he goes back and sees how the town would have been if he hadn’t lived. Love the concept and one of these days I want to write a modern version of that storyline.
Miracle on 2ndStreet. It doesn’t matter which version you watch the newer or the older one, I love them both. They both have such a great story and yes I’m a sucker when it comes to children and Santa. That’s why I wrote The Reluctant Santa, one of my two Christmas books.
Scrooge – Loved this show. Yes it’s dark, but the message is so good that it gives me hope about people. What a masterful way to show our lives and their effect on the people around us. It's truly a second chance at life movie.
Santa Claus – Tim Allen becoming Santa is hysterical and all I can say is that the screenwriter did such a good job in making his character change and grow. And the little boy…sigh.
While You Were Sleeping – Love it. Talk about an amnesia story. This one is the best. Yes, I consider it a Christmas movie. Who doesn’t love Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. Oh Bill, you were so good and the family. Loved the family. 
What is your favorite Christmas movie and does your family have any movie traditions for the holidays?




I have two Christmas books. The Reluctant Santa is a contemporary and the Christmas Bride is a novella from my best-selling western historical romance. Whoever leaves a comment will be entered into a drawing to receive one free copy.

Movie photos were taken from Wikepedia.

Plotting Princesses ~ holiday newsletter issue. Check out great stories, links, and fun!

Our 2013 Plotting Princesses newsletter is packed with all kinds of goodies: Holiday releases!New releases!Street Team information!Blog Talk Radio!Great Articles! with lots of links and information.  Click here: http://ymlp.com/zQprwo 

Vicki Batman ~ Shop-a-rama Begins!

Shop-a-rama Begins

Five Weeks! FIVE WEEKS!! Til Christmas. Let the shopping begin.
Or if you are like me, you shop year round and probably overbuy. Lol. I stash boxes and bags in a secret spot until one day, when I really need to verify what I bought everyone. I sort it into piles, label a shopping bag with a name, and put that person's gifts in the bag until Wrap-a-thon Day.
My secret spot has so much in it already and I've hardly begun. I have a stack of pages from catalogs by my monitor to buy things on line. Online shopping maybe easy, but when there's a stack—I see an hour or two-ish in my future.
Poor Handsome. He is so not a shopper except for food and workout clothing. I learned early to tear out pages from newspapers and catalogs, and circle with sizes and colors for him. Sometimes, I'll say something and he does come through. It's pretty funny. All he asks for are books. He-he-he. I do have a special little thing up my sleeve for him.
And those boys! This year, they seem to have everything already.

And this year I have my new daughter! That one was easy.

I guess I'm feeling rushed. I won't be home for Thanksgiving this year and that means all the decorating I usually do after Turkey Day will be pushed out. Rush. Rush. Rush.
  I'd like to get a great book, my diet Coke and hang out. Sound good?
So are you anticipating a squee-some gift this year? Are you feeling rushed? Vicki Batman is rejoicing because her new holiday  story, "The Great Fruitcake Bake-off," releases December 6. If you need a rush antidote, try it at: MuseItUp Publishing     To defend her five wins, Samantha Greene, has to find a new entry for The Great Fruitcake Bake-off and teams up with new neighbor, Dixon Roberts, only what they discover is baking a award-winning entry can be complicated, bad guys are plotting to take the crown, and ultimately, first prize isn't just about a ribbon.  

Michelle Miles on Thanksgiving: The Forgotten Holiday

I love Halloween. But not for the gore and gross stuff. I love it because it’s FUN. Because the decorations are fun and it’s officially FALL in my book.

What I don’t love is that Christmas decorations start to creep into the stores before Halloween is even over. I’m sure you’ve noticed this disturbing reoccurrence. It seems like it gets earlier and earlier every year. For Christmas and then for Valentine’s. There will be chocolate hearts on display by January 2 – you watch.

But I digress. It seems like we jump from Halloween to Christmas. We start the Christmas shopping madness earlier and earlier every year. This year, we get the added bonus of having stores open ON Thanksgiving morning. Before we know it, stores just won’t CLOSE for Thanksgiving.

This is an injustice if you ask me. What about the people who have to work at these stores? Don’t they deserve to have a holiday full of turkey and football? I mean, there really aren’t any decorations for Thanksgiving either. You don’t see people putting out giant blow-up turkeys in their yard. Or decorating their houses with turkey lights.

It’s sad that it’s come to this. Thanksgiving is like the skipped over holiday. “Oh, it’s just thanksgiving.” HEY, y’all. The pilgrims DIED trying to get to the New World. Let’s not forget that. Let’s not forget the pilgrims celebrated the first thanksgiving for THREE DAYS. Let’s not forget that this is supposed to be a day of thanking God for all that we have. Let’s not forget that this was declared a National Holiday in 1863. Not the national “It’s time to shop for Christmas” event. I don’t see any politicians clamoring to make THAT a national holiday.

Hey I’m all for decorating for Christmas right after Thanksgiving but not before. I’m also all for early Christmas shopping…but on thanksgiving? Really? I want to enjoy my turkey and dressing and football without the stress of holiday shopping or decorating for Christmas. Let’s enjoy our turkey day before the rest of the holiday madness begins. Can we? I mean the holidays only come around once a year but that doesn’t mean we can skip one to get to the other one.

So this Thanksgiving, stop and ENJOY it. Forget about Christmas until the next day or, heck, even December 1. Enjoy that turkey and dressing and cranberry. Enjoy stuffing yourself with desserts you only eat on this holiday. Enjoy spending time with your family. Whether it’s watching football or playing football in the front yard. For me, Thanksgiving is a time to slow down and cherish the day rather than rush around spending all my money looking for the perfect gift. That will come later. Much later.

This Thanksgiving, I’m giving thanks for my family and friends, for having a roof over my head and food on the table.

What about you?

The Scandal of Holiday Creep

The holiday creep is back. No, not that guy who hangs out at my local hardware store and offers to carry my bags for spare change (yes, I’m a softie and I always let him), but the slow push to make the purchasing period for the December holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanza begin well before the first frost is on the pumpkins, or the hay is in the barn. 
The signs are everywhere: red and green decorations in the local chain stores; advertisements on the television with bright red cars plowing their merry way through the snow; gorgeous magazine layouts with tips for holiday decorating; and stacks and stacks of catalogues jamming my mailbox. And just last week, while empty candy wrappers from Halloween were still blowing across the lawn, the neighbors had a professional company come install their Christmas lights. Me? I haven’t even ordered a Thanksgiving turkey! 
My first reaction to this year’s holiday creep as a mom and harried head of household, was the frostiest of cold shoulders—I’ll get to the holidays when I get to them, and not a minute sooner, thank you very much! I will not be made to feel guilty because I am not out on a buying or decorating spree, instead of sitting at my desk writing the books my readers count on. 
But then I had a terrible revelation—I’m part of the problem! I have a Christmas e-novella, THE SCANDAL BEFORE CHRISTMAS, which became available in mid-October. 
So how do I reconcile my own wish for a quaint merry Christmas that doesn’t start until sometime after Thanksgiving with the need to get out there and sell my books? By reminding myself that the very best thing about e-books is that unlike the flocked Christmas Trees being sold in the hardware store’s parking lot, the holiday e-novellas have no expiration date. 
Any of the wonderful holiday stories we authors have written for you can be downloaded now and be left to wait on your e-reader, like a wrapped present under your metaphorical reading tree, until you are ready to read them. Even if it’s next holiday season that you’re in the mood for a charming historical holiday story, the wonderful set of diverse novellas that St. Martin’s Press is gifting you with this year will still be there waiting, ready to transport you to a snowbound house near Portsmouth in the winter of 1815, or anywhere else you’d like to go. If you’re not a particular fan of my style of historical, there are many other novellas waiting in your e-reader’s stocking to suit your taste—everything from charming contemporaries to dark paranormal, and every genre in between. 
So go ahead and have yourself a merry little Christmas, or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, or Winter’s Solstice, or even Festivus—but not a moment before you’re ready. My novella will be there waiting, ready and able to transport you into a merry little happily ever after.
~To celebrate, I've giving away an electronic copy of THE SCANDAL BEFORE CHRISTMAS to one lucky commenter. Thanks so much for stopping in to chat with me today. Cheers, EE 

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DO YOU HAVE A NOTORIOUS AUNT? by Kathleen Baldwin

Do you have a Notorious Aunt?

This week I am launching my award-wining Regency romantic comedy as an eBook. LADY FIASCO was voted best Traditional Regency by the cataromance readers, and won 2nd place in the prestigious Molly. It’s book one in the series, My Notorious Aunt.

It about and unusual heroine. Fiona Hawthorn grew up running free. Without a mother to restrain her, she spent her days riding her horse neck or nothing across her father’s fields and swimming like a sea nymph. But in a sitting room she’s bound to overturn the teapot or accidentally trip the footman. Her notorious Aunt Honore decides to takes the hoyden in hand, but amidst the strictures of society, Fiona is a fish out of water.

When she was younger, Lord Wesmont was her hero. But he came home from fighting Napoleon a hardened man. Nothing can breathe life back into his cold heart, nothing except, perhaps, the love of an unusual young woman who regularly turns his life upside-down. Can a lady with a reputation for disaster, stumble into love?

I’ve gotten many letters from readers remarking on the unexpectedness of the plot, and asking where I got the idea for the story. As with all ideas, it was a fusion of elements.
First, I must confess, the book is based on a dream. The closing scene was a poignant tender image that I couldn’t get it out of my head. So, I wrote a book to support that one delightful scene. Prior to LADY FIASCO I’d only published in short story and non-fiction. So I began writing my first full length novel backwards.

Second, I drew from real life. The truth is I had a very eccentric aunt. She was as wildly unpredictable and outrageous as Lady Alameda. Probably worse. One never knew what to expect when she blew into town. It is only natural that my aunt’s bigger than life personality seeped into my creative id and played havoc there, too.

My aunt passed away many years ago - not a surprise given her flamboyant lifestyle. They say not to speak ill of the dead, so I will tread lightly here. Let us just say my aunt was not a model citizen. No, scratch that, I’ll be completely honest, she was dreadful. For instance, she tried to murder one of her husbands, and on several occasions she abandoned her young children and they had to come live with us. Not really the motherly sort. BUT Aunt Zelda was exciting! (Name changed to protect the survivors.) She gave me my first glass of champagne (age nine) and my first taste fresh caught lobster. My mother was careful, fastidious, and uber-responsible. Aunt Zelda lived life on the sharp edge of disaster. She encouraged messes. For instance, she had no problem with her five children powdering her steep wooden stairs with baby powder, and then we kids sat on rugs and took turns sliding down. Great fun until it ended in one of us taken an inevitable bad tumble.

Once, when I was away at college, Zelda called and asked if I would like to go to dinner. She picked me up at my apartment in a gigantic Peterbuilt semi. She’d decided to become a trucker. Instead of her normal skinny self she’d blown up to three times her weight – I hardly recognized her. Dinner turned out to be fifty miles away and by the time the evening ended, she was roaring drunk and fell asleep in the cab of the semi. The next time I saw my aunt she was skinny again. This time Zelda was raising Appaloosa horses and running around with a bull-riding rodeo cowboy. (It didn’t last long. Even he couldn’t manage my aunt.)

There… I’ve told you way too much personal stuff. (There are more Zelda stories, but I dare not tell them.) The point is: inspiration comes from unlikely sources. I feel sad for my aunt’s children. They deserved a better mother. My mom deserved a better sister. But I couldn’t help but find Zelda fascinating, dreadful but fascinating. The whacky weird people in my life provide rich fodder for stories. Would I be able to write my stories if she hadn’t been part of my life? What about you? Do you have a notorious aunt? How have the abnormal characters changed your life? It isn’t always the good things that make us better people, or better writers.

I’ll be giving away a free book to someone who is brave enough to comment.

Visit KathleenBaldwin.com for more info

Read an excerpt of Lady Fiasco on Amazon

Karilyn and the Flat Tire by Karilyn Bentley

 #car problems #flat tire

I've got to admit I'm recycling this story. It's a couple of years old but still cracks me up. Hope you enjoy!!!



Growing up my dad owned an auto salvage with his dad and brother. I used to spend summer days out there learning all sorts of things. Mainly my twin cousin and I would take the Green Machine - a Pinto minus the hatchback, the hood and the doors - and drive it up and down the rows in between wrecked cars. Our fathers, who were supposed to be watching our 12-year-old selves, thought this would be a safe activity, considering we couldn't really damage the GM and the rest of the cars were already wrecked. The GM didn't go very fast and supposedly taught us how to drive (if you ever saw Cousin drive, you'd think twice about this assessment).

Little did they know what we did with it.

At the time, Dukes of Hazzard was a really big show (I've dated myself, haven't I???). Not the cheesy movie either, but the real Mccoy, with Bo and Luke Duke. Hoo-wee. Gotta go get my fan. Okay, I'm back. Anyhoo, since the Dukes could leap into a traveling car, Cousin and I figured we could too. So one of us would hop behind the wheel of the GM, gun the puny engine until it whined in protest and the other one would run as fast as her legs could carry her and leap, mostly gracefully, into the car. The driver would then tell the other how fast she could run.

Lots of good old-fashioned fun.

Despite all the fun, Dad did insist I learn something. God forbid his girl go through life without knowing something about cars. So he'd spend hours showing me how engines work, what a drive shaft was, how to make car repairs. And yes, until I got my little Saturn (BTW, the Saturn was the first car I bought new), I used to do a good number of car repairs, all under the watchful eye of Dad.

One night, a couple of years ago, my friend and I were out and about and hopped in my shiny red Saturn to mosey home when the steering went out. I backed out of my spot, heard this clicking noise and the car started to veer to the right.

Great. More money that needed to be spent b/c it looked and felt like the steering was completely out.

Friend and I drove home and the whole time the car's veering to the right. When I got home, I looked under the car, convinced something had to be hanging off of it. Nothing was. So, I thought, gee, maybe it will spontaneously fix itself overnight b/c I really can't afford a steering problem. It could happen.

When I hopped in the car the next morning and backed it out, more noise sounded, so loud I think it woke up the few neighbors that weren't awake. I pulled it around to the front of the house and figured I should look under the hood.

Embarrassingly enough I couldn't get the hood opened. So now my hands are covered in dirt but luckily I'm at home where there's soap and water, no problem. But it's obvious the car won't make it to the dealership b/c said dealership is like 15 miles from my house. So I think, hey Firestone is down the street, only 3 miles, no problem. I hop back in the car, that is now making so much noise that the radio can't drown it out, and start driving. Noise, unbelievably, gets worse. I panic. Keep driving car though. Stop at traffic light. Kind Lady rolls down her window and starts hollering, hey lady, you have a flat.

**mentally hits self in head several times** Tells Kind Lady thanks and pulls off road into Sonic parking lot.

Now I can put into use all those skills Dad taught me more years ago than I'm going to mention. I hop out of the car, pop the trunk (yes, unlike the hood I can get the trunk open), pull out the spare and jack and drag it up to the tire. The tire is smoking, nice white smoke and smells like it's been set on fire. The wrench is on the jack and I cut my finger open getting it un-attached.


The wrench won't open so each time I twirl it around, little metal pieces of my hubcaps come off. Blood is dripping all over and grease is coating my hands. Now, you might not realize this, but I'm a wee bit anal about clean hands and all I see is dirt. Like the character in Macbeth - out, out damn spot. I start to hyperventillate b/c there is dirt on my hand and in my cut and I'm in my nice Scooby scrubs and they're going to get dirty and there is no place to wash my hands - did I mention all the dirt?? - and it's way before 8 so no place is open and who do I call around here and why the hell won't the lug nuts unscrew - what is wrong with them?? - and there is DIRT and I can't touch anything b/c of the dirt and I'm going to have to call my hubby b/c of the dirt b/c I can't change the tire with all the dirt.

So much for Dad's lessons.

The Hubster leaves work at my panic dirt-filled call and comes and changes the tire b/c dirt doesn't bother him and the lug nuts pop right out as they should. Grrr.

I feel like a dumb blonde. I know how to change a flat. I used to change tires with Dad all the time. And there I sat completely immobilized by dirt.

But I did get the tire fixed by Discount Tires who had me on my way in 15 minutes. Great place if you've never used them. They even let me clean my hands using their special soap. It took 5 washings but the hands finally came clean. Skinless, but clean. :)

Ever had a flat?

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Is Black Friday Out of Control?

It’s November, and already the black Friday buildup has begun.  Amazon is advertising Countdown to Black Friday deals. I signed up for an ad from Book Blast for their Holiday advertising. Put your tennis shoes on and be prepared for the holiday races to begin. 
Our family is small, and we have to travel to San Angelo to spend Thanksgiving with my parents who live about thirty miles out of town. There are main roads into town, but at night or early in the morning you have to watch for deer. In the past, on two separate occasions, my parents have hit deer crossing the road at night, which does considerable damage to your car. When we drive out to their place, my husband, and I are always watching for those rascally deer who run right in front of you. Once we’re there for Thanksgiving, we usually don’t go anywhere in town until it’s daylight.
Plus, I find it very hard to get up at three in the morning and go shopping just so that I can get some great deals. I’m snuggled up under the covers, dreaming of Ryan Gosling and how I can persuade him to appear on my next book cover. But a lot of people enjoy this early morning shopping spree. I know women who pour over the sales ads and plan their shopping excursion.
It’s the kick-off of the holiday shopping season and the stores want everyone spending money. If you enjoy getting up early and hitting the stores before the sun rises, have a great time. Be careful and remember those credit cards will come back to bite you in January.
Some big box stores are now opening up Thanksgiving afternoon or evening. Soon other stores will not want to miss their chance at the cash cow and will join the sales extravaganza. But what if you’re an employee? You have to leave your Thanksgiving celebration with your family and get ready for everyone else to shop in your store.
What happened to a family holiday about being thankful for what we have? Are we now going to have Black Thanksgiving? Skip the dessert and get on down here for our blue light special. Aren’t we going to lose the unique marketing of black Friday if Thanksgiving becomes just another shopping day? Tell me your thoughts.
Do you think stores should open on Thanksgiving day? Do you like to shop on Black Friday? 

It's release day for The Christmas Bride. This novella is part of my best-selling western historical series, The Burnett Brides. Leave a comment today and two people will have a chance to win a free e-book copy.